commentr/StutterMay 21, 2024

Content

You deserve an amazing job because you’re qualified, passionate and an asset to their team. Your stutter doesn’t make you any less of those things. One thing that helped me was working on my confidence. Our stutters can make us so afraid / embarrassed to speak we just hide ourselves away from the world. I spent 2 years drinking and unemployed bc I was too terrified to go to an interview. I even went to an interview drunk to stop my stutter so you are not alone! I noticed when I stopped giving a fuck what people thought of me my stutter got a lot better. I know that’s cliche advice and wow wouldn’t life be so easy if we all just stopped caring, but really it did wonders to stop thinking that everyone is better then me bc they don’t stutter. So what if I stumble over my words or it takes me 5 minutes to finally spit out my first name? If you are too ignorant to let me finish my sentence then the trash took itself out! There is so much more important stuff going on out there nobody should be concerned about my stutter. I had never tried addressing I have a stutter right off the bat bc I was embarrassed. But one day I thought let’s try opening this interview with a casual mention of my stutter and see if it helps.. if it doesn’t no harm done.. and it went amazing. I said something like just a heads up I have a stutter and it tends to get worse in situations where I’m passionate about what I’m speaking about and wanting to make a good impression so bear with me as I work through it, and hopefully by the end i was worth the extra wait! I think making a joke and being so casual just took all the tension out of the room and made it feel more personable and comfortable. People are expecting you to stutter now and know to wait until you’re finished. It also shows confidence and says you have control over the situation, which is essentially showing leadership, management and problem solving skills. You can still be a force to be reckoned with even with a stutter I promise you! Now go into your next interview and kick some ass 🩷

Themes

Anticipation & AvoidanceCoping & AdvocacyIdentity & DisabilitySchool & Work

Subthemes

Hiding & ConcealmentMindset shiftSelf-Advocacy & BoundariesAuthenticity vs. MaskingEmployment & Career